Arsène Wenger says that he uses the Carling Cup in order to provide himself with a glimpse into Arsenal's future.
The Frenchman is well-known for resting senior players and instead bringing in youth players to participate in the tie.
The fact that Arsenal's youth team are in the final, is a testament to the strength in-depth of Arsenal's youth system.
Wenger said: "The Carling Cup is almost like looking into the future. "That's what I use it for.
"I look at the Carling Cup team to see where we are going as a Club. Do we have enough to fight for the Premiership and Champions League? Or do we have to buy because they aren't good enough? This year they have shown me they are good enough.
"To work well in the future, a club like ours should only have to buy the exceptional players. We should have a good enough squad to fight for the rest.
"I didn't buy anybody in the transfer window because there's no point bringing average players in."
Wenger also said that such a decision [to play youth players] requires the full backing of the Arsenal board.
He added: "The problem is you have to combine two things.
"You have to install enough in the club to go with that policy. If it's done in the short term and the manager changes every two years then why should he go for a policy of five years?
"Secondly, you have to be strong enough to play the young players when there's a big demand. You have to stick to it. If you want to know how good your players are then you have to play them."
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